The three stars of 'UFC on FOX 10: Henderson vs. Thomson'

The three stars of 'UFC on FOX 10: Henderson vs. Thomson'

“UFC on FOX 10: Henderson vs. Thomson” was arguably one of the organization’s weaker network-television offerings to date, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any meaningful results to come out of the event.

With the main- and co-main-event bouts lacking fireworks, the door opened up for some of the card’s lesser-known fighters to shine. Several fighters delivered performances worthy of note, but three stood out from all the rest.

Now that the UFC’s annual trip to Chicago is a wrap, here are our three stars from UFC on FOX 10.

Third Star: Jeremy Stephens

Jeremy Stephens (23-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC) may not have starched Darren Elkins (17-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) for a quick knockout the way he was able to in his previous fight. However, the nature of his victory was perhaps even more telling than a finish.

If you were to bet which fighter would have his hand raised after 15 minutes of battle, chances are the money would have been on Elkins, a notorious grinder who has shut down opponents time after time for the third most victories in UFC featherweight history.

He wasn’t able to do that against Stephens, though, as the 27-year-old avoided all nine of Elkins’ takedown attempts and picked his shots en route to a lopsided decision victory.

“Lil’ Heathen” appears to be a new fighter since dropping to 145 pounds, where he’s now 3-0.

Defeating fighters the caliber of Elkins is a threshold Stephens was unable to cross at lightweight, and considering he’s on the first three-fight winning streak of a lengthy UFC tenure, it’s obvious his ceiling as a competitor is far greater in his new division.

It’s hard not to be impressed with Alex Caceres (10-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) at this point in his career – both in and out of the octagon. From a young man who was once of the most disliked cast members on “The Ultimate Fighter 12” to earning $100,000 in fight-night bonuses for his stunning submission of Sergio Pettis at UFC on FOX 10, the man they call “Bruce Leeroy” has come a long way.

A slow 1-3 start to his UFC career – paired with a failed drug test this past year – brought about doubts regarding Caceres’ career in the world’s premier MMA organization.

Caceres has changed that perception in a hurry, especially on Saturday night, when he derailed the Pettis hype train by handing “The Phenom” his first professional defeat with a late-third-round submission.

The 25-year-old overcame early adversity in the fight to take advantage of Pettis in a performance that netted him both “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” honors, making him just the third bantamweight in UFC history to do so.

When Caceres was given the chance to shine in the spotlight of the featured bout on the preliminary card, he stepped up to the plate and was rewarded for his efforts.

While three of the four UFC on FOX 10 main-card fights were hard-fought battles that went the distance, the one that ended with a finish left the crowd at Chicago’s United Center in awe.

With a dozen UFC fights under “Cowboy’s” belt, it’s no secret what Donald Cerrone (22-6 MMA, 9-3 UFC) is good at. He possesses a crisp striking arsenal with some slick grappling to back it up. He’s going to try to finish the fight as quickly as possible, and he wants to do it with style points in hopes of taking home a fight-night bonus.

That said, things couldn’t have gone much better against lightweight Adriano Martins (25-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) as Cerrone knocked the Brazilian out cold with a perfectly placed kick to the jaw in the first.

While it didn’t come against the most proven of competition, the spectacular finish was an easy choice for “Knockout of the Night,” the 13th fight-night bonus of Cerrone’s UFC/WEC career (a Zuffa record).

Cerrone is beloved for his “anyone, any time, any place” attitude when it comes to fighting. His knockout of Martins was one of UFC on FOX 10’s high points and was further proof of why the 30-year-old is likely to be part of the UFC roster for years to come.